While she was unconscious, Lin Yingying, 22, was unaware that her boyfriend, Liu Fenghe, 25, had been praised in the Chinese media for his devotion.

He promised to stay by her bedside forever and borrowed about £21,000 to help pay her medical bills. The story had captured the public imagination in the city of Dalian in north-east China’s Liaoning Province, where the couple lived.

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However, after being taken home by her parents and regaining consciousness, Ms Yingying said her boyfriend beat her into a vegetative state because she burnt some bread at their small bakery business.

Her father told police and local media that she blames Mr Fenghe for putting her in a coma.

She was taken home by her mother and father in February last year and regained consciousness in May.

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But she has only started to tell her side of the story, saying she was abused by her boyfriend on a regular basis and that he forced her to hide the truth, threatening to kill her.

According to Ms Yingying, he struck her one day as punishment for burning a batch of bread in their bakery – and that his subsequent bedside vigil was done out of guilt, not love.